#kira vc: can i help you?

[kazeoto-archived]

laid  upside  down  with  legs  against  the  wall  .  blinks  at  you  .

                                 ❝     …    …  ?  …    …     ❞

[bleachbleachbleach]

Re Hitsugaya and Kira's shikai powers, it's pretty unlikely Hitsugaya knew, I think. I'm no lore expert but I do love to over analyze things! Rangiku points out before their fight that Kira doesn't tell people what he can do. He specifically mentions that Renji and Momo know, so it's theoretically possible Momo could have told Hitsugaya, but she doesn’t have much reason to. It seems likely that people who fight together often, like officers in a squad, would know each other's shikais (unless they're hiding them...Yumichika...), but since Kira and Hitsugaya haven't ever been in that position, my guess is he didn't know. We see Kira (and most of the Soul Reapers really) show off and explain his shikai in detail a few times, but I assume that's because we as the audience are just seeing them fight a lot and having it explained for our benefit. With a couple exceptions (some of the zanpakutos seem to be famous?), my guess is people who aren't close and/or in the same squad actually seeing each other fight probably don't know each other's abilities super well.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts because I love to think about small details like that!

Yes, I totally agree!!! I come back to these scene all the time because I just think LOL what a way to find out. Hitsugaya's in the middle of stopping a fight and arresting some people and suddenly his sword is twice as heavy as he was expecting it to be and it's just like, gdi Kira u motherfucker. But gotta play it cool on account of, you know, arresting people. XDDD RIP wrist.

I think it's so fascinating how radically different things become in SS pre- and post-ryoka invasion/Aizen defection. It just all happens so fast! Suddenly people are carrying their zanpakutou around all over the place and releasing shikai and even bankai willy nilly.

Colorful Bleach suggests that knowing the Captains' and VCs' shikai/bankai is now on the Academy entrance exam, but given that this information does not seem incredibly widespread within the current officers it kinda makes it seem like that's a... new, post-Aizen addition. XD Afterwards I feel like it was like, Man, maybe we should do some icebreakers or something and get to know each other?? Because I agree--prior to the start of Bleach, I don't get the impression the divisions saw all that much of each other all that often, unless people made specific individual effort to do so.

Part of me is like LOL someone help them--how hard is it to keep track of the like, handful of people who have shikai to begin with (or even just Captains/VCs--it's not like there's that many of them). Especially given that a lot of this stuff is super flashy and distinctive. But the serious part of me is like, no yeah that tracks. Flashy or not, anything related to your zanpakutou seems fairly personal; it's probably not social convention to discuss it outside of particular situations or audiences, or in the context of assessment (e.g. Captains/VCs exams). My workplace has fewer employees than the Gotei 13 has and I definitely could not tell you what the heck most of these people do all day, much less the specifics of their individual research. Even within my specific department (approximate in size to, say, the number of Captains) I still couldn't tell you. XD So I imagine it's like that. Everyone knew (or thought they knew) Aizen's because he did so much teaching/demo-ing, but that whole arc really showed SS's ass in terms of how poorly their atomized leadership was able to rise to the occasion. People are probably fairly aware of Senbonzakura, because if they know Sode no Shirayuki well enough to grant her an epithet, I assume Kuchiki trivia is just part of SS's social fabric. Knowing Ryuujin Jakka is probably like knowing the names of the U.S. Presidents' dogs. On the other hand, like, when Kira is surprised by Hitsugaya's shikai when he's fighting Ichimaru, I imagine that'd be like me thinking of one of my co-workers, "Ah, see I knew you were a physicist but uhhhhh would not have guessed you work on the... physical structure of bacteriophages??? whut"

I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ABOUT THESE THINGS and have demonstrated in this reply my inability to coherently organize them, but anyway YESSSS I am always here for all of this. Thank you so much for sharing your take! I LOVE IT. <3333

[columbuscomicscorner-blog]

X-Men Blue #11 Review **Spoilers**

Writer: Cullen Bunn Artists: Douglas Franchin, Scott Hanna, Guru-eFX Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit Cover Artists: Daniel Acuna (Rock N’ Roll Variant) Publisher: @marvelentertainment NCBD: 9/13/17 Review by: Ryan Douglas

Cullen Bunn returns to continue the Goblin Queen & Hex-Men arc, things aren’t looking great for the team. Only Scott Summers and Jean Grey are left standing, putting the pressure on the two to rescue the team and cause less damage to their mansion. Within the opening pages of the attack, Cullen Bunn takes the time to give a quick spotlight on each Hex-Men, informing the reader of their origins. Which right away throws off the momentum of the pacing. I’m not sure if we necessarily needed an info dump. But the two are outnumbered and attempt to send a distress signal to both Angel and Jimmy. Goblin Queen is blocking Jean’s psychic signal from getting through. Cullen Bunn is really leaning on his new toy, that being the psychic connection between both Scott and Jean. Providing a nostalgic team-up attack, they’re able to break the link to Goblin Queen and with the help of Pickles, they bamf away. While it’s a bad ass get away, Scott‘s a bit jealous of Pickles and the fact Jean kept a secret from him.

Following up with Angel and Jimmy in Colorado, the two are investigating the mystery of the strange teleportation portal, which brought himself and the Raksha to this universe. Inside a hidden bunker Angel, Jimmy, and Sheriff Kira come across a pre-recorded message from Miss Sinister left just for Jimmy. Before we can learn anything, Angel for no reason ends the message, just to leave a mystery for the reader. But don’t worry, to make up for that we find in this lab, they have been running tests on the Blob. End scene, we’ll have to wait for an issue or two for that seed.

I thought we might of been done with the Raksha. But Cullen Bunn brings them back when Scott and Jean cross paths after teleporting into an illegal casino protected by Raksha. This is a bit frustrating, knowing we just brought back some heavy hitters to weaken them this soon.

But the issue ends back at the mansion, where Goblin Queen has the remaining team entrapped in volcanic molds. Cullen throughout the issue throws out some off the wall rules to explain why the team has has no chance of being on the offensive. While Goblin Queen monologues on, there’s something in Bloodstorm that catches onto to the fact Hank McCoy is fighting to break this hold. The twist may be too obvious but within Bloodstorm’s dialogue, she may turn sides. If that’s the case, why bring back Raksha? Unless we’re rounding up all the characters who will be returning home? I’m looking at you Jimmy and Raksha.

Overall:

The second issue into this arc provides more set up within setup. Cullen Bunn continues his style of slowly moving the plot along while introducing plot seeds he’ll revisit later on. Coming off the Secret Empire tie-in arc, as readers, we got the brand new additions to the team only to weaken them right away. The new romance of Scott and Jean is taking the forefront and placing the spotlight on them. As far as art, they should’ve created a distinguished look for Nightcrawler. He falls into the same look as the other goblins and is lost. Past that, no real complaints about the art. In the end, this issue comes off a bit dysfunctional with more setup, putting a damper on the momentum the series has gained recently.

6.8/10

Hear more discussion of X-Men Blue #11 on the X-Men Monday Podcast, here.

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1156

Monday, March 20, 2017

 It's the first day of spring but you would still think it's the dead of winter here in Ottawa. I hear it snowed in Vancouver recently too. I don't consider spring starting until I can't see anymore snow on the ground around our neighbourhood. I figure that will be the middle of April this year. I've already seen a robin at our house though. We put up a bird feeder last fall and it attracts many birds. Mostly house sparrows but we see finches, juncos, nuthatches, chickadee-dee-dees and our favourites the cardinals and woodpeckers. The male cardinals are bright red-orange and the females are a mocha coffee colour. We have had downy, hairy and pileated woodpeckers come and feed. Watching the birds outside our window is like watching fish swim around an aquarium. Very calming. Until the undesirables show up. Starlings and squirrels snark up a lot of feed and scare away the little birdies. The squirrels have gotten so brazen now that I have to go outside to shoo them off the feeder. I used to be able to do that just by banging on the window. Stupid squirrels.

 We lost one of the greatest comic book artists on March 18 when Bernie Wrightson succumbed to cancer and passed away. I have always been a bigger fan of the art side of our hobby and Bernie's art gave me goosebumps. His pen and ink work was stunning. Rest in peace Mr. Wrightson.

 Punisher #10 - Becky Cloonan (writer) Matt Horak (art) Frank Martin with Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I'm disappointed in Matt. This whole issue takes place at a sea port in Newfoundland and he didn't put one Canadian flag in any of the panels. Even a little one would have been nice. It looks like another dire situation for Frank but the bad guys screwed themselves. You'll see the obvious giveaway, but maybe I'm wrong.

 Uncanny Avengers #21 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Kevin Libranda (art) Dono Sanchez Almara with Protobunker (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). If there's a fill-in artist who makes me just as happy to read this book as when regular artist Pepe Larraz draws it, then it's Kevin Libranda. I liked how Deadpool found a way to defeat the Red Skull's Professor X powers. I wonder if they're going to bring back old Charles.

 Batman #19 - Tom King (writer) David Finch (pencils) Danny Miki, Trevor Scott & Sandra Hope (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). The art in this issue is pretty awesome. Part 4 of "I Am Bane" has the big bad guy wading through Batman's rogues gallery one by one. Almost every Bat villain you can think of get's his licks in. odd that there are no women. I was also bothered by the fact that they're all loose inside Arkham asylum. How are they going to be get back in custody? The last page leads into the inevitable final battle between Bane and Batman and I want to see who wins. Like I couldn't guess.

 American Gods #1 - Neil Gaiman (writer) P. Craig Russell (script & layouts) Scott Hampton (art) Rick Parker (letters). I started a list of books I want to read after the Snail closed because I found myself with a lot of extra time. American Gods by Neil Gaiman is on that list. I've been told what the premise of the book is so I had a bit of background going into reading this first issue of the comic book adaptation. Reading the comic book is going to enhance my reading of the novel when I get around to it because I will visualize Scott's depictions of the characters in my head and they are very nice ones. The back-up story "Somewhere in America" by P. Craig Russell (script & art) and Lovern Kindzierski (colours) was a hot piece of erotica about unsafe sex. This gets added to my "must read" list.

 Totally Awesome Hulk #17 - Greg Pak (writer) Mahmud Asrar (art) Nolan Woodard (colours) Cory Petit (letters). This hasn't been a solo book for the last few issues with Amadeus hanging out with his friends but I am still enjoying it. This issue is a good place to start as the team has to figure out a way to save themselves and some civilians from being eaten by aliens. You could call these guys the Asian Avengers because what happens in this issue gives them something to avenge. If you jump on here you won't want to jump off until you read the next issue.

 Batwoman #1 - Marguerite Bennett & James Tynion IV (writers) Steve Epting (art) Jeromy Cox (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). Kate chases after a mystery woman from her past after dealing with a terrorist in Istanbul. I like how she's teamed up with Julia Pennyworth.

 Kill or be Killed #7 - Ed Brubaker (writer) Sean Phillips (art) Elizabeth Breitweiser (colours). This issue features Dylan's ex-girlfriend Kira, now with purple hair instead of red. I'm glad she's still hanging around because boy does she have problems. We start off during a session with her therapist and get a lot of background. I love this kind of stuff because it makes the characters more engaging. Kira might need an emergency session after she decides to do something stupid at Dylan's place.

 Monsters Unleashed #5 - Cullen Bunn (writer) Adam Kubert (art) David Curiel & Michael Garland (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Okay, Kid Kaiju comes through to save the world from the Leviathon Mother, showing up all the Marvel super heroes. I guess that's why he's getting his own book. Look for it to hit the racks on April 19. Unless it's drawn by an artist that I really like I will take a pass. The Kid's creations are more suited to fans of action figures or Saturday morning cartoons than an old coot like me.

 Super Sons #2 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Jorge Jimenez (art) Alejandro Sanchez (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). This is great. I don't know why but I love really well written comics about young super heroes like this and Champions. Maybe it's because I can't let go of being a kid. Damian and Jonathan have to deal with Super Lex in order to get a lead on Kid Amazo, the very bad boy they're after. Everything doesn't go smoothly and then, uh-oh, their dads find out about what they're doing. I can't wait to see what happens next.

 Wild Storm #2 - Warren Ellis (writer) John Davis-Hunt (art) Steve Buccellato (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). This 24 issue series is very ambitious and there are a lot of players involved. If I was a new reader I would be wondering who are these people? Some people work for International Operations (IO) and some people work for Halo. The two organisations don't like each other and they're both after Angela Spica, the Engineer. I hope that helps with getting into this story. One of my favourite things from the old series was the Door which could transport people to different places. I think we're introduced to a new Door this issue and she's a lot better looking than Lockjaw.

 Ms. Marvel #16 - G. Willow Wilson (writer) Takeshi Miyazawa (art) Ian Herring (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I like this story about a malevolent computer virus and it looks like Kamala can't defeat it. That is until she gets a clue from her old pal Bruno. I can't wait to find out how Doc.x gets deleted.

 Superman #19 - Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason (writers) Patrick Gleason (pencils) Mick Gray (inks) John Kalisz (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Part 3 of "Superman Reborn" looks like it might resurrect the pre-New 52 Lois and Clark. I hope not. That would confuse me to no end and then I would get annoyed and stop reading these amazing Superman books. Patrick draws the creepiest Mr. Mxyzptlk ever. I wonder if they're going to do the saying the imp's name backwards thing?

 Guardians of the Galaxy #18 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Valerio Schiti (art) Richard Isanove (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I love these issues featuring one team member. Angela's up this time around and it's a beautifully drawn fight scene between her and some alien bounty hunter. The issue ends with a major threat heading for Earth. It starts with Th and rhymes with anus.

 Spider-Man #14 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Sara Pichelli (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Nothing serious between Miles and Gwen despite what the cover shows. This is one of those issues that annoy Bendis detractors because nothing really happens. The heroes hop from one dimension to another and each wind up in different ones by the end of this issue. I can easily forgive because of Sara's art.

 Mighty Thor #17 - Jason Aaron (writer) Russell Dauterman (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). The gods of Asgard and the Imperial Guard of the Shi'Ar finally come to blows in part 3 of "The Asgard/Shi'Ar War". Meanwhile Thor can't seem to win much in the challenge of the gads against the Shi'Ar gods Sharra and K'ythri. Mjolnir is sure getting a workout though. This book is not only chock full of action but it's visually stunning as well.

 Amazing Spider-Man #25 - Dan Slott (writer) Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I wish you didn't have to pay $9.99 US for this one issue starting off "The Osborn Identity" story. That's a bit much for one comic book don't you think? Sure you get a bunch of back-up stories but none of those really matter to the main story. You do get 40 pages of Stuart and Wade goodness though, so why couldn't they have printed just that and charged $4.99 US? As you can probably tell Norman Osborn is back so the Green Goblin can't be far behind. I did like the team-up with Mockingbird with a hint of Peter and Bobbi possibly becoming more than friends. Here are the other stories that pad this issue. A fight with Clash by Christos Gage (writer) Todd Nauck (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters) which has the old "it's not what you think" twist at the end. A silly Tsum-Tsum story for the younger readers by Jacob Chabot (writer) Ray-Anthony Height (pencils) Walden Wong (inks) Jim Campbell (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Thank Thor that was a blessedly short 6 pages. A Parker Industries mishap at their Shanghai facility by James Asmus (writer) Tana Ford (art) Andres Mossa (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). A young Spider-Man story about a boy and his dog by Hannah Blumenreich (writer & pencils) Jordan Gibson (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Some Aunt May gags by Cale Atkinson which were even sillier than the Tsum-Tsum story. And finally to ease the pain of having to buy an overpriced comic book, the return of another Spider-Man nemesis. One thing that "The Clone Conspiracy" did was bring back Otto Octavius, Doc Ock. He now has a youthful body thanks to Miles Warren's cloning process. So meet The Superior Octopus by Dan Slott (writer) Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) Cam Smith (inks) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). He's bad-ass now plus he's got Hydra backing. Here's a prediction: Somewhere in the future Peter and Norman have to team up to fight Otto and Hydra.

 Archie #18 - Mark Waid (writer) Pete Woods (art & colours) Jack Morelli (letters). This issue proves that love is blind. Archie and Veronica have nothing in common and should not be together. Betty and Dilton Doiley are more compatible. I wish I was Dilton Doiley.

[kaldurs]

people telling me not to complain about teen wolf can choke as far as i’m concerned. they treated their entire poc cast like trash for nothing, they gave them all brilliant characters with plenty of room for development and wrote them all off ( permanently ) for no solid reason... except racism, lol. all of you, no matter what you ship, KNOW kira should’ve been there this season and she would’ve been had she not been a fucking woman of colour. they wrote stiles and malia so well yet scrapped their entire development for, what? to return to a ship that, honestly, before this season was dead? this season was gross and fanservice-y and treated stiles stilinski as its lead when you all AGAIN know for a fact that scott mccall, the beautiful man of colour who had everyone and everything torn from him time and time again ( derek, allison, isaac, kira, boyd, erica ), was a beautifully strong male lead that should’ve been given his time in the spotlight. 

like are you kidding me? it ended with stiles getting the girl, great, what about scott? scott’s first love is dead, his second is? what? off in the desert? training for something that’s now never going to come because st*dia’s great love conquered all? please don’t make me vomit. i’m so sick of this fandom. half of y’all acted outraged when arden got BOOTED!!!!! bc that’s what happened in case you weren’t aware, she didn’t WANT TO LEAVE, she was FIRED and kira was WRITTEN OFF FOR NO REASON, but y’all acted like it was so awful yet you went straight back to watching as soon as jeff baited you in with your years old ship. do you not see how wrong that is? they had NO development since the kiss! NONE. 

you know an even sadder part ( well, not sadder than a woc getting booted from a show but i know y’all racist whites are already rolling ur eyes so let’s move on to something y’all might care about ) is that stiles was supposedly malia’s anchor? i’ve read that somewhere? he was the one person she trusted and literally helped her grow into her own as a human which? is really, incredibly healthy? i don’t know a lot about their relationship, but what i do know is that it’s frankly vile how they treated malia’s character and her incredibly strong connection with stiles this season. again, she was thrown to the side for no reason, making way for st*dia when there was no need for it. malia is a fricking werecoyote? she’s the daughter of peter hale? she’s? ? ? ? an incredibly complex character ?? ?  ?? but yet again, sidelined. just like scott.

i won’t even mention the countless other characters, mostly poc, who were sidelined. it’d take too much time.

this entire show is a fucking joke beyond belief. i don’t even watch it anymore but frankly i’m disgusted. for those of y’all that enjoyed it, congrats, you fell victim to fanservice that wasn’t even well executed. i genuinely hope you find a show that [ shawn mendes vc ] treats you better.

[unixcommerce]

Copper Offers CRM with Full Functionality in G Suite

CRM software simply means customer relationship management. And any sized business can use them. Popular ones used by SMB’s include Salesforce Essentials and Keap — formerly Infusionsoft.

Why use a CRM?

A CRM collects info from existing customers or new leads. It places them into an easy interface. Fast access to your own notes on an account helps you retain clients. Because you appear organized and attentive. CRM promises it’ll give your human memory an irreplaceable crutch.

Are CRMs Easy to Use?

No two CRMs work the same. Strong opinions about the best platform abound. In a fiery rant, CRM industry-watcher Scott Marker says CRM is a 36 billion dollar industry. But says most end users actually hate using the product. Marker contends most CRMs remain user-unfriendly. Most use platforms. This implies they’re external.

Small Business Trends spoke with Dennis Fois and Kira Lenke of Copper. They describe Copper as software not a platform. Copper alone offers full functionality with G Suite. This includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Sheets, Keep, Forms, etc.

Google officially recommends Copper is officially recommended by Google, according to Gsuite.Google.com. It lives inside your Gmail inbox. So Copper says it can automatically capture your email history. And it also sends associate emails to the right accounts. Users view and update leads. And they log in to accounts straight from Gmail. That happens without tab-switching back and forth.

* * * * *

About Copper CRM

Dennis Fois serves as the CEO of Copper. There he commits to redefining the role of CRM. He brings over 25 years of experience developing and leading high-performing multicultural teams. He had worked at startups and public companies in tech and financial services. Fois formerly served as CEO of NewVoiceMedia. Vonage eventually acquired that company. Before NewVoiceMedia, Fois was the CEO at Rant & Rave and has held senior leadership positions at eGain, Barclays, Solera and ADP. He advises and mentors a number of technology startups and VC teams at various stages of growth and scale.

Kira Lenke is VP of Marketing at Copper. In her current role, she is responsible for directing and overseeing the marketing function at the company and driving strategy to strengthen Copper’s market position. Prior to Copper, she held marketing positions at technology companies including Aviso, DudaMobile, and Intuit. Her experience spans storytelling and brand building, product launch management, key messaging and feature differentiation, creative large-scale brand campaigns, retention and lifecycle email marketing, and segmentation through key customer insights.

How to Use Copper with G Suit

Small Business Trends: What should small businesses know about Copper? How is it different in the CRM space?

Dennis Fois: While most software designed in the 1990s has evolved with the times, CRM technology has stayed stuck in the past. Copper is a different kind of CRM, built for the modern employee. It lives in G Suite, the productivity cloud previously called Google Apps For Work which radically changed the way we collaborate in the workplace.

By partnering with G Suite, Copper is able to provide an easy-to-use interface that users are already familiar with. It also automates data from G Suite and simplifies it into useful, organized information that is helpful across multiple business departments.

Kira Lenke: At Copper, our focus is on collaboration and ease-of-use. We’re not trying to impose another desktop that users have to work from and learn how to use. Instead, we’re meeting people in a tool they’re already familiar with — G Suite. Placing Copper alongside the collaboration tools people already know and love allows for it to work seamlessly in the background, requiring almost no onboarding. Copper doesn’t demand any heavy administration and will even send reminders to you when it’s time to follow up with a prospect or customer. This gives small business owners time back to focus on what they do best — running their business and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Marketing and Selling at the Same Time Causes Stress

Small Business Trends: Most small businesses market and sell at the same time, which can cause stress. How should they cope with this?

Dennis Fois: I often see small businesses struggle to find the right balance between short-term work while simultaneously planning for long-term goals. Both are essential elements of the roadmap to success and need to be thought of as connected.

The solution here is not to separate short-term and long-term priorities from each other. It’s easy to prioritize one over the other, but the true key to growth is to think of short-term actions as connected to long-term goals. Together, they make your roadmap.

One way to adjust to this mindset is to measure your inputs vs. your outputs. For example, if the long term goal is to grow your sales this year by 30 percent, the first input would be to consider how many conversations you’re having with existing customers and prospects every day. The next input would be planning your daily schedule. For small businesses, every day is different. Instead of sticking to a rigid schedule, consider allotting a percentage of time for certain tasks, such as responding to customer inquiries.

Do You Regret Investing in Business Software?

Small Business Trends: Why do many small business owners feel buyer’s remorse after purchasing software? 

Dennis Fois: For software companies, the goal of building a highly valuable company often comes before the goal of making its customers successful. This approach leaves small businesses behind because the focus is put on larger deals and the larger customers that will get companies to the highest valuation.

Some things software companies can do to cater to small businesses is to design technology that is easy to use and deployable for a company of any size. Creating a freemium option as well as a price plan within reach for any customer is equally as important. In targeting SMBs, offering free trials or freemium versions are key for adoption. Software companies can also benefit by providing case studies for how other small businesses are using the product.

Kira Lenke: My first piece of advice for small businesses is to be careful not to fall into the trap of “app-ifying” your business. While integrating your business tools with one another can be helpful at times, there’s a chance you’ll spend more time trying to get them to connect without seeing any real value. I find it best to pick a technology stack that works for you and your team and master those.

Conclusion

To enhance efficiency, my personal favorites are G Suite tools such as Sheets and Docs. Finance tools like Xero and Quickbooks make it easy for small businesses to manage their accounting and finances. Another great strategy for small businesses is an email campaign. Mailchimp is an email marketing platform with a variety of personalization features. Our list of business tools is a great resource to determine the technology stack that will best serve unique business needs. While many business owners are quick to try new apps, actually adopting and implementing them into their businesses isn’t a priority. Most often, this is because software tools aren’t designed with the needs of small businesses in mind.

Images: Copper.com

This article, “Copper Offers CRM with Full Functionality in G Suite” was first published on Small Business Trends

https://smallbiztrends.com/

The post Copper Offers CRM with Full Functionality in G Suite appeared first on Unix Commerce.

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[takenews-blog1]

Shine of the times

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/shine-of-the-times/

Shine of the times

Supply: Eva Chen on Instagram

“To ensure that the sunshine to shine so brightly, the darkness have to be current.” — Francis Bacon and/or Girl Gaga

Alexia Tsotsis is a giant nerd who’s engaged on one thing beneath the radar. Earlier than this she was at enterprise faculty and earlier than that she was at TechCrunch.

I think this might be my first ever video #evachenpose (and first one with a Kira Kira filter, certainly). No bag today but the boots are so extra I felt like they were sufficient. Also if you look closely at my right knee, you can see a CC pressed into my skin from sitting with my legs crossed at shows all day 😯

A post shared by Eva Chen (@evachen212) on Sep 17, 2017 at 1:50pm PDT

He didn’t count on his aspect hustle’s sudden recognition, and positively didn’t count on it to draw 275Okay month-to-month lively customers, $300Okay in income and roughly 300Okay in downloads for the month of November 2017, in accordance with Apptopia, which additionally estimates the app’s common income per consumer at a stable $zero.99. (Yama disputes Apptopia’s estimates, and holds that the app noticed 400Okay downloads within the month of October alone.)

At tha ltd., Yama has labored on initiatives for Shiseido and a Japanese males’s gymnastics crew. He insists that his Kirakira discovery wasn’t impressed by his job, however quite by a starry-eyed quest to create photorealistic OpenGL and Shaers results in a real-time app.

Kentaro pushing the envelope in actual time …

… versus his rebelliousness in CG.

So what propelled Kirakira, which implies “sparkly” in Japanese, from the dregs of the App Retailer to the house screens of any influencer price their weight in Likes?

“The impact is simple to grasp — and enjoyable,” Yama writes to me. However that doesn’t clarify why Kirakira wasn’t actually found till this previous September, the place trend lore has it that Instagram head of partnerships Eva Chen fortuitously discovered it and began utilizing it throughout Spring/Summer season ‘18 Vogue Week.

Whereas the Instagram press crew has not responded to our request for remark, Chen may be very possible “affected person zero” of the app. “I used to be very, very shocked,” Yama tells me about seeing the app all of the sudden take off two months in the past. “For the reason that variety of downloads elevated, I up to date the operate that I believed wanted. Past [what I imagined,] individuals wish to shine,” he muses poetically.

Yama got here throughout the inspiration for Kirakira whereas nonetheless working at his day job, constructing post-production lighting results at tha ltd.

Yama had a hunch that the bubbling, enhanced lighting would additionally swimsuit the cellphone’s digital camera and thus constructed an app with the identical impact however in actual time. However nothing got here of it for years, till this fall’s Spring/Summer season Vogue Week (sure, I understand how bizarre this sounds however that’s a complete different put up).

Humbled by his success, Yama is conscious of the truth that there may be already a plethora of filter functions. And he’s involved in regards to the existential risk posed by Instagram and Fb, which infamously don’t have any qualms about stomping on the competitors.

“Yeah, I’m somewhat frightened about that,” he explains. “I believe the brand new characteristic Kirakiragraph is a good suggestion. I [will be] sorry if that is additionally copied.”

Yama thinks it could be a aggressive benefit that Kirakira sticks to being solely targeted on the amplification of sunshine versus, , usurping your complete social graph.

Apptopia stats

With a starring function in Kirakira’s newest replace on November 13th, Kirakiragraph is that solely strikes mild, a prescient launch as we slowly method essentially the most lit holidays of the 12 months: Christmas and New Yr’s Eve.

The replace additionally means that you can get the Kirakira impact on nonetheless photographs, which online-focused manufacturers like Iconery are already utilizing Photoshop to mimic.

Yama wouldn’t share his personal obtain metrics, and mentioned he had no knowledge in regards to the app’s each day and month-to-month lively customers. Similar with its income and revenue, although he advised me that the numbers on Apptopia are approximate. His future plans embrace constructing an Android model of Kirakira, however not a social community. He’s by no means considered taking VC cash.

Yama is awed that world-famous individuals like Kim Kardashian are utilizing his app.

“The world is just too totally different for me.” Nonetheless Yama says that not one of the celebrities utilizing Kirakira has reached out to him, but. “Though it’s not, there are a number of tales about collaboration with corporations,” he explains.

He sees lots of alternative for AR to affect trend the best way Kirakira has and past. “As a result of CG will probably be extra appropriate for photoreal expression, I believe that CG and cameras will develop into extra acquainted, and extra varied expressions will probably be born as AR,” he explains.

And whereas Kirakira is purposefully easy, there may be room for extra complicated AR interaction inside the worlds of magnificence and trend: Each Sephora and Mac leverage the Modiface SDK and help you attempt on a cat eye or a glitter lip with out the resultant mess. Apps like Fabby Look show you how to to alter your iHair colour and there are a cornucopia of apps that help you have digital surgical procedure (for higher or for worse, per Amanda Hess).

  It’s solely a matter of time — and advances in AI, CV and CG — earlier than related semantic image-recognition tech can also be utilized to the colour of your garments or the form of your complete physique — shout out to David Foster Wallace’s imaginative and prescient of dystopian avatar tech.

If Amazon’s latest acquisition of Physique Labs is an indicator, the tech MAFIA is already engaged on apps that make an all-red or all-yellow or all-fur outfit pack much more of a punch in social media images, that are more and more the one metric that issues. Anna Wintour herself is rumored to have mentioned runway present is now simply an excuse for individuals to Instagram the garments.

So will software program eat the runway? A easy click on on the #kirakira hashtag makes it clear that the app has already influenced the influencers — see above. These glittery Chanel boots are the shoe of the season. And these glitter clothes. And this. And this eyeshadow. And this.

“Solely sporting Kirakirable outfits till the tip of 2017,” new magnificence model Glossier, the be-all end-all of Insta-tastemakers, lately posted, hearkening again to an early signal of the brand new course (they had been additionally one of many firsts to lean into “millennial pink”).

In any case, what’s magnificence however an augmentation of sunshine?

Article up to date on Dec 17th with new Apptopia obtain figures.

[kazeoto-archived]

@faithfrayed​  liked for a starter...

SUDDENLY CARMINE  .  languidly  posed  ,  she  lay  supine  on  cement  flooring  .  legs  had  been  throw  against  the  wall  ,  bracing  themselves  there  while  she  lazed  .    it  was  the  intrusion  of  the  vibrant  color  which  caused  fem  to  blink  .  eyes  staring  at  others  .

            ❝     …    …    ?    …     ❞

[kazeoto-archived]

@ciigarburns​  /  ｓｉｌｃｏ

fem  had  been  bumped  into  many  a  times  throughout  life.  this  was  a  first  in  a  while  to  cause  a  stumble  .  feet  caught  her  ,  equilibrium  restored  as  she  swayed  into  place  .  colorless  optics  landed  upon  the  man  who  breached  personal  space  .  a  blank  stare  was  given  .                                  ❝     …    …   ???   ….   …    …     ❞

[kazeoto-archived]

blinks twice as hard

pondering how a skeleton can blink .        intriguing .

[unixcommerce]

Copper Offers CRM with Full Functionality in G Suite

CRM software simply means customer relationship management. And any sized business can use them. Popular ones used by SMB’s include Salesforce Essentials and Keap — formerly Infusionsoft.

Why use a CRM?

A CRM collects info from existing customers or new leads. It places them into an easy interface. Fast access to your own notes on an account helps you retain clients. Because you appear organized and attentive. CRM promises it’ll give your human memory an irreplaceable crutch.

Are CRMs Easy to Use?

No two CRMs work the same. Strong opinions about the best platform abound. In a fiery rant, CRM industry-watcher Scott Marker says CRM is a 36 billion dollar industry. But says most end users actually hate using the product. Marker contends most CRMs remain user-unfriendly. Most use platforms. This implies they’re external.

Small Business Trends spoke with Dennis Fois and Kira Lenke of Copper. They describe Copper as software not a platform. Copper alone offers full functionality with G Suite. This includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Sheets, Keep, Forms, etc.

Google officially recommends Copper is officially recommended by Google, according to Gsuite.Google.com. It lives inside your Gmail inbox. So Copper says it can automatically capture your email history. And it also sends associate emails to the right accounts. Users view and update leads. And they log in to accounts straight from Gmail. That happens without tab-switching back and forth.

* * * * *

About Copper CRM

Dennis Fois serves as the CEO of Copper. There he commits to redefining the role of CRM. He brings over 25 years of experience developing and leading high-performing multicultural teams. He had worked at startups and public companies in tech and financial services. Fois formerly served as CEO of NewVoiceMedia. Vonage eventually acquired that company. Before NewVoiceMedia, Fois was the CEO at Rant & Rave and has held senior leadership positions at eGain, Barclays, Solera and ADP. He advises and mentors a number of technology startups and VC teams at various stages of growth and scale.

Kira Lenke is VP of Marketing at Copper. In her current role, she is responsible for directing and overseeing the marketing function at the company and driving strategy to strengthen Copper’s market position. Prior to Copper, she held marketing positions at technology companies including Aviso, DudaMobile, and Intuit. Her experience spans storytelling and brand building, product launch management, key messaging and feature differentiation, creative large-scale brand campaigns, retention and lifecycle email marketing, and segmentation through key customer insights.

How to Use Copper with G Suit

Small Business Trends: What should small businesses know about Copper? How is it different in the CRM space?

Dennis Fois: While most software designed in the 1990s has evolved with the times, CRM technology has stayed stuck in the past. Copper is a different kind of CRM, built for the modern employee. It lives in G Suite, the productivity cloud previously called Google Apps For Work which radically changed the way we collaborate in the workplace.

By partnering with G Suite, Copper is able to provide an easy-to-use interface that users are already familiar with. It also automates data from G Suite and simplifies it into useful, organized information that is helpful across multiple business departments.

Kira Lenke: At Copper, our focus is on collaboration and ease-of-use. We’re not trying to impose another desktop that users have to work from and learn how to use. Instead, we’re meeting people in a tool they’re already familiar with — G Suite. Placing Copper alongside the collaboration tools people already know and love allows for it to work seamlessly in the background, requiring almost no onboarding. Copper doesn’t demand any heavy administration and will even send reminders to you when it’s time to follow up with a prospect or customer. This gives small business owners time back to focus on what they do best — running their business and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Marketing and Selling at the Same Time Causes Stress

Small Business Trends: Most small businesses market and sell at the same time, which can cause stress. How should they cope with this?

Dennis Fois: I often see small businesses struggle to find the right balance between short-term work while simultaneously planning for long-term goals. Both are essential elements of the roadmap to success and need to be thought of as connected.

The solution here is not to separate short-term and long-term priorities from each other. It’s easy to prioritize one over the other, but the true key to growth is to think of short-term actions as connected to long-term goals. Together, they make your roadmap.

One way to adjust to this mindset is to measure your inputs vs. your outputs. For example, if the long term goal is to grow your sales this year by 30 percent, the first input would be to consider how many conversations you’re having with existing customers and prospects every day. The next input would be planning your daily schedule. For small businesses, every day is different. Instead of sticking to a rigid schedule, consider allotting a percentage of time for certain tasks, such as responding to customer inquiries.

Do You Regret Investing in Business Software?

Small Business Trends: Why do many small business owners feel buyer’s remorse after purchasing software? 

Dennis Fois: For software companies, the goal of building a highly valuable company often comes before the goal of making its customers successful. This approach leaves small businesses behind because the focus is put on larger deals and the larger customers that will get companies to the highest valuation.

Some things software companies can do to cater to small businesses is to design technology that is easy to use and deployable for a company of any size. Creating a freemium option as well as a price plan within reach for any customer is equally as important. In targeting SMBs, offering free trials or freemium versions are key for adoption. Software companies can also benefit by providing case studies for how other small businesses are using the product.

Kira Lenke: My first piece of advice for small businesses is to be careful not to fall into the trap of “app-ifying” your business. While integrating your business tools with one another can be helpful at times, there’s a chance you’ll spend more time trying to get them to connect without seeing any real value. I find it best to pick a technology stack that works for you and your team and master those.

Conclusion

To enhance efficiency, my personal favorites are G Suite tools such as Sheets and Docs. Finance tools like Xero and Quickbooks make it easy for small businesses to manage their accounting and finances. Another great strategy for small businesses is an email campaign. Mailchimp is an email marketing platform with a variety of personalization features. Our list of business tools is a great resource to determine the technology stack that will best serve unique business needs. While many business owners are quick to try new apps, actually adopting and implementing them into their businesses isn’t a priority. Most often, this is because software tools aren’t designed with the needs of small businesses in mind.

Images: Copper.com

This article, “Copper Offers CRM with Full Functionality in G Suite” was first published on Small Business Trends

https://smallbiztrends.com/

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